ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Ripon College Cycling Team fared well at the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference (MWCCC) Championships over the weekend, hosted by Lindenwood University. Two Red Hawks qualified for USA Cycling Nationals, with sophomore Elliot Holt and freshman Nick Niemi doing the honors.
On Saturday, the team headed to Wildwood, Missouri to participate in the Cross Country race, featuring eight mile laps of single track with rocky terrain and river crossings.
The Team finished as follows in the Cross Country race:
Noah Reckers: First Place Men's B
Elliott Holt: Seventh place Men's A
Nick Niemi: DNF(flat tire)
On Sunday, the team raced in the Short track Cross Country Race. The course was held on Lindenwood's on campus cyclocross course. Ripon's racers finished as follows:
Noah Reckers: First Place Men's B
Nick Niemi: Fifth place Men's A
Elliott Holt: Eighth place Men's A
Reckers went on to receive 3 gold medals for the weekend - First Place for His Men's B XC Championship win, First place for his Men's B STXC win, and First place for the Men's B MWCCC Omnium leader.
"As a coach, I could not ask any more of the team over the weekend. Reckers spent his first weekend of racing in the Men's B category taking back-to-back wins, and obtained enough conference points to win the omnium. Despite having a flat day one, Niemi was able to come back and finish fifth on day two. Holt had back-to-back top 10 finishes on terrain he's not typically familiar with," Ripon Head Coach Alec Hoover said. "We've spent over 40 hours traveling to races in the past 11 days and are flying out to California this week to race at Nationals in Big Bear Lake. Everyone on the team has been the epitome of a Student- Athlete under these circumstances. They are not just surviving, they're thriving."
Niemi and Holt have qualified for The USA Cycling Collegaiate National Chamionship Cross Country and Short Track Cross Country races. They will be competing in the Cross Country race on Friday at 7 a.m. Pacific Time, and the Short Track Cross Country race on Saturday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
